Remember that Bitcoin is not just the ledger/validation/anti-counterfeiting capabilities, but also a set of rules controlling and decentralizing the issuance. If I read your links correctly, the researchers are essentially proposing a system of digital/quantum monetary units that can be independently verified as genuine, thus leaving the issuance of money still in control of governments and banks. It's basically a drop-in replacement for the existing monetary system, but made fully digital and non-counterfeitable. So I'd argue that for most individuals, Bitcoin would still be better "money" if you valued features such as predictable and decreasing inflation or full decentralization.
Wow you must have read through those links quickly
Actually the issuance of such money would be available to any entity in possession of the algorithm not just "still in the control of banks and government" ... big difference. There are other important differences that make the Public-Key Quantum Money much more like digital cash than the current blinded signature cash schemes out there, particularly there is no need to negotiate with the issuer to verify the validity of the coins. This is important since it makes the fully-anonymous coins easily transferable like cash without leaving a network trail of who's transacting with who and etc. Bitcoin cannot do this easily, and Bitcoin can't do fully anonymous at all, pseudo-anonymity will always be Bitcoins deficiency. The market values fungibility, that much is evidentially known with certainty, so I'd argue PKQM is theoretically 'better' money than Bitcoin on those grounds at least.
Possibly some really smart new Satoshi could merge this idea of independent quantum monetary units with self-verification (i.e. not needing a Blockchain), with some Bitcoin-like system to restrict and decentralize issuance. In that case it could legitimately claim to be an improvement over the current Bitcoin.
We live in hope ... some of us may even be working on it, who knows? You are right that Satoshi has laid a groundwork for how it can be done and other technologies can incorporate whatever works best. The decentralised, restricted issuance, Open Source, network consensus part of Bitcoin technology is formidable to be sure.